Mainland stocks surged yesterday, led by oil refiners and interest rate-sensitive shares such as banks and property firms, after global oil prices fell further, partly easing concern about inflation and a further tightening of Chinese monetary policy.

The Shanghai Composite Index added to its gains in the afternoon and closed 2.55 percent higher at 2910.29 points, just off its intra-day high of 2912.7.

Turnover in Shanghai A shares expanded to a two-week high of 77.8 billion yuan from Wednesday's 64.1 billion.